Unpicking Ofsted reports, part 8: vulnerable children

In the spring term, the four top trending areas for Ofsted recommendations were:

It is therefore worth taking some time to consider the issues that sit under these areas with vulnerable children in mind.

Assessment and planning systems
Typical criticism:

We cannot underestimate how important it is for all staff to have sound child development knowledge and an understanding of how children learn. If we are going to effectively meet the needs of all children, we need to understand what typical development looks like. Without these solid foundations, there are likely to be delays in identifying when children aren’t meeting developmental norms.

Staff also need to understand the community that they serve. This knowledge must go beyond merely identifying a child as part of a vulnerable group such as children with social care involvement, children accessing a two-year-old place or children whose primary language is not English. The whole staff team needs to understand the characteristics of each group and what these could potentially mean for development. For many practitioners this will involve introducing reports and literature that they may not have considered before – 1001 Critical Days, information on adverse childhood experiences and even older research such as Graham Allen’s report on early intervention, for example. In some cases, it may mean that staff need to access training about specific cultures or religious groups or on particular educational needs.

The quality and consistency of teaching and learning
Typical criticisms were: